The Rising
by bernicevella64
Summary: What happens when Rachel discovers that her real father is the richest man in Gotham? What happens when Quinn's father decides that it's time that she attends high school like a normal teenage girl? G!P Rachel. Rated M for language and later content.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **Hello there! Welcome to my new fic, which I've been working on at the side for a while. Now I know what you're thinking, but don't worry, I am working full speed ahead on the next chapter for Transition, and I'm already ahead with this one so it won't get in the way. I have a long weekend coming up and I'm hoping I can get it up by Monday evening. So fear not! It's on it's way!

With this fic, this is just the prologue, but just to give you an idea I already have three chapters done and a good portion of the fourth and the fifth. I'm thinking that I can get a weekly chapter since I am ahead, which is what I've been trying to do with Transition but I keep posting new chapters the minute I finish them because they take so long.

I hope you enjoy this fic! It's sort of become my baby.

* * *

"Vamos vamos! let's go bitches!" the Latina ordered as the three ran out of the door and through the streets.

"Shit S! If we get caught this is it for me!" the mo-hawked boy seethed through his teeth.

"Relax Puck, we're not gonna get caught!" the tiny brunette at his side assured. "Just talk less and run like the wind!"

The trio ran like their lives depended on it and turned into a dark alley when they were sure they got away. Puck was confused when the two girls started laughing.

"What are you two laughing about?" he asked. No answer. The Latina and the short brunette were too busy hanging on to each other to stay upright. "It's not funny guys, we could have been caught!"

"Oh relax and have a joint muchacho!" Santana said, grabbing one of the blunts in her pocket and tossing it over to him.

"After that run, I think I need one." He said, pulling a lighter out of his pocket.

"You in tiny?" Santana asked, she looked over to the brunette.

"No thanks S, I don't smoke the product, I just sell it." Rachel said with a wave of her hand.

"And that's why you're so uptight all the time, have a smoke with us, it'll be fine, alcohol does more damage, and I've seen you go through a six pack of beer." Santana argued.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. SHIT!" Rachel said looking at the phone which she had just pulled out of her pocket.

"What? Is it the cops?" Puck asked, hiding the joint.

"No man, it's my dads! Five new messages and, oh holy crap, THIRTY SEVEN missed calls? Oh I'm in it deep!" Rachel whined.

"Rachie's in trouble with daddy?" Santana teased.

"Suck my dick Lopez!" Rachel snapped.

"Sorry dude I'm allergic to peanuts." Santana teased again, grabbing at Rachel's crotch roughly.

"Woah! S! What did I tell you about grabbing me like that!" Rachel said, yanking the Latina's hand away.

"Yeah remember the first time you did it? She had a hard on all day!" Puck said with a chuckle and a cough as smoke billowed out of his mouth, he handed the now lit joint to Santana.

"Yeah that was hilarious." Santana said, taking a drag from the joint.

"It was mortifying. And that's not the point. My point is don't be putting those claws anywhere near my junk, I wanna keep it thank you!" Rachel rolled her eyes as Santana chuckled.

"Maybe you should get outta here, I don't want you in anymore trouble than you already are chica." Santana said. "Besides, we're just gonna get high on Puck's couch anyway."

"Yeah and I'm probably already never going to hear the end of it as it is. Might as well save myself any further torture!" Rachel sighed. "I'll see you guys later, S, keep Puck outta prison, if he's gonna be anyone's bitch it's mine!"

"Leave it to me!" Santana said before barking out in laughter.

"Hey I ain't gonna be no one's bitch!" Puck argued, but Rachel was already gone and Santana was laughing too loudly to hear him.

Rachel put the hood of her jacket up and hurried home in the dark streets of Gotham. It was never safe for anyone in this city, but she wasn't ever unprepared. Her dads had gotten her self defense lessons when she had gotten old enough to go out on her own, but just in case she also always carried a switch blade around. She dealt pot with her friends, there was always a risk of a fight breaking out and she was not about to go down without being a challenge for her opponent. That fighting side of her had always been there, she doesn't know where she got them, her dads were peace loving men. They detested violence, no matter how necessary it was in certain situations. They didn't even know about the blade, Puck had given it to her as a welcome gift when she joined him and Santana and now every night when she goes out she hides it in her boot and then keeps it under a fake bottom in her desk drawer, along with anything else that might need hiding.

She arrived at her house and ran up the steps, putting her key in the door. She opened it and was greeted by her one of her dads, Leroy, standing right in front of her.

"Umm…Hey pops." She greeted with a smile. From the look on his face she could tell he was not happy.

"Rachelah Barbra Berry. Do you have any idea how worried your father and I have been? He's been pacing the kitchen since the first call you ignored! I had to convince him not to make a missing persons report!" Her father ranted.

"I'm sorry pop, my phone died." Rachel shrugged. Leroy's nostrils flared, he knew she used this excuse more that once.

"Phone. Now." He demanded with his palm flat open. She took out her cell phone and gave it to him. He tried to turn it on once. Nothing. Twice. Nothing. Three times. Nothing.

And all the while Rachel had to fight herself to remain stoic and expressionless as her father tried to turn on a phone that contained no battery, but a flat chunk of cement she had found on the ground six months ago in the alleyway before going into Puck's apartment. She had had countless arguments with her fathers about not answering her phone, and the first time she tried to use the 'dead battery' excuse, she had been caught after Leroy stated that 'there was no way on earth a phone was that light unless the battery was out.' She had been grounded for a week. When she found the chunk of cement she tested out the weight by taking out her battery and asking Puck to close his eyes and hold out his palm. He stated that he would have thought that she had put the same thing on his hand if it weren't for the rough texture of the chunk and the warmth the battery still retained from just having been at work inside the phone. For six months, whenever she accidentally ignored her dads calling her incessantly, she used the chunk of cement to substitute for the battery weight. It worked every time.

"Here." Leroy said dejectedly as he once again failed to turn the phone on. "This is the third time this month this has happened. I'm not gonna tell you again. Charge. Your danged. Cell phone."

"Sorry pops, won't happen again." Rachel said as she shrugged her jacket of and put it up on the coat rack.

"Mmmhm." Leroy hummed as he walked away. Rachel walked into the kitchen and was suddenly engulfed in a tight, and choking, embrace.

"Oh thank heavens you're alright!" Hiram exclaimed.

"Hi dad." She said, her voice muffled by her father's chest. "Dad. I can't breathe."

"I was so worried Rachelah!" he said, not hearing her plea for air.

"Mmmf-" she tried to say.

"You know the streets are dangerous at night! Oh you could have been kidnapped! Or worse! Assaulted! Or worse-"

"Yeah, I could have been choked to death by the viper hold my own father has me in." Rachel said, trying to push her dad off of her.

"What?" he said looking down at his daughter and then released her allowing her to breathe. "I'm sorry sweetie, you know I get worried."

"Yeah, dad, I know, I know." Rachel rolled her eyes. "You guys shouldn't worry so much, I'm seventeen now! Besides, I'm tough! I can handle myself!"

"We know you're tough, trust me, we've had plenty of calls about fights at school, we know you're tough!" Leroy reminded her. She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever, you guys can't keep worrying about me forever. The world sucks. So what. I'll survive, I always have." She shrugged off.

"Oh come now, the world isn't so bad." Hiram argued.

"If you say so." Rachel muttered with another eye roll. "Listen guys I'm pretty tired I'm gonna go hit the hay."

"Okay, goodnight sweetie." Hiram said, kissing her cheek.

"Goodnight baby girl." Leroy said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. She climbed up the stairs and into her room. She dropped the phone and the battery on the bed, quickly switching the battery back with the chunk of cement. She grabbed both that and her switchblade from her boot and hid them under the fake bottom of the desk drawer. She cleared the texts and missed calls and quickly changed into her night shorts and tank top before flopping down into bed. Another night in the life of Rachel Berry. Uneventful, save for being snitched on instead of getting the deal they were supposed to get.

What she didn't know was that her life was about to change completely.

* * *

**A/N: **So what do you think? Let me know!


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I suck because I already missed my first update date, I'm very sorry, last week was kind of hell on Earth. But enough about me, here's the first chapter!

* * *

The next morning she woke up. Saturday. No school, hanging out with Puck and Santana. No stress. No worries. This is what Saturdays were for. She hopped into the shower and in ten minutes was out and getting dressed. She walked into her kitchen to see her fathers watching the news.

"Morning guys." She said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. "What's going on today?"

Leroy a Hiram didn't answer but they turned up the volume.

"In other news, the batman was seen once again last night." The female reporter began. "Gotham's 'Dark Knight' as he is popularly known among the citizens, was seen during a car chase on the main highway along with several police officers."

"What poor idiot thought he could get away with something this time?" Rachel said. She always liked it when news about the batman or superman was on. It gave her hope that there was actual justice in the world.

"Apparently an armed robbery. Heavily armed. And the gunmen tried to take a hostage." Hiram summarized before shutting off the TV.

"Hah. I almost feel sorry for the poor suckers." Rachel smiled widely as she drank her coffee.

"I think it's a little juvenile for a grown man to be putting himself in danger like that." Hiram commented. Leroy simply hummed in agreement as their daughter gawked at them.

"You guys are kidding me right?" she asks.

"Not at all Rachel." Leroy said.

"Guys. You can't be serious! The Batman is a symbol for justice and peace. He's Gotham's own hero! This whole city would be in ruins if it weren't for him!"

"Oh now you're just being dramatic." Hiram waved her off.

"No. I'm not! Have you been in a coma or something?" Rachel demanded from her father.

"Rachel." Leroy chastised.

"I'm serious pops." Rachel shot back. "If it weren't for Batman, Joker would have blown up that train station. And The Scarecrow would have gone through with fogging up all of Gotham until it was one huge traumatic nightmare for all of us. You remember that, right? We were on lock-down for a week? We had been given gas masks!"

"We know, Rachel, we remember." Hiram assured.

"And who stopped him?" Rachel demanded of her father. Who didn't respond, he just gave her a look and rolled his eyes. "If anything, he isn't juvenile! He's a martyr!"

"He's a grown man who wants to play hero." Leroy corrected.

"He's a grown man who dedicates everything he has into keeping our city safe!" Rachel argued. "Do you have any idea how much his gear must cost? His vehicles? I can't even imagine the kind of tech he uses!"

"If you ask me he should let the authorities handle it. The proper authorities!" Hiram countered. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Wasn't it you two who raised me to believe in justice and truth and all that is good?" Rachel asked.

"It was, very good memory." Leroy nodded sarcastically.

"And isn't that exactly what Batman promotes? Justice, truth-"

"Scraped knees and bruised elbows from all the children who want to be like him." Hiram cut in. Leroy snickered at his husbands antics.

"He's a role model." Rachel corrected her father.

"If I catch you in tights and a cape I am putting my foot down." Leroy warned. The brunette rolled her eyes again at her other father.

"I'm not saying I want to imitate him. I'm saying he gives me faith in humanity which would otherwise be lost." Rachel said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Oh come now, humanity isn't all that bad." Hiram said.

"Yeah sure. Next you're gonna tell me all the rapists and murderers out there are just mis understood." Rachel said.

"Well, as a psychiatrist I think I can safely say that-"

"That this town is filled with nut cases, otherwise you wouldn't even have a job." Rachel said with a sarcastic smirk. Hiram rolled his eyes, not even finishing his sentence. "Besides you guys say nothing about Superman."

"Sweetie, Superman is an intergalactic being. He can fly and he's invincible." Leroy reminded her, as if she needed to be told that.

"You have no problems with any of the heroes, just the ones without powers." Rachel said.

"Yes. Because they're the ones putting their lives in terrible danger." Hiram told her.

"Whatever. Batman totally has a power too." Rachel informed them. They looked at her like she was crazy.

"And what would that be sweetheart?" Leroy humored. Rachel tapped her temple with her index finger.

"His mind. He's got to be a genius!" Rachel shrugged.

"Rich. Intelligent. Hiram, I think our daughter has a crush." Leroy said looking to his husband who tried to stifle his laughter.

"Oh ew!" Rachel cringed, then made a gagging noise. "Men are so gross. No the Batman is great but he ain't that great, plus I think he'd have issues with the penis."

"La la la. Moving on!" Hiram ordered with his fingers in his ears. "Didn't you have plans Rachel?"

"I do. Bye guys!" she said with a little wave before walking out of the kitchen and out the door. Leroy looked out of the window to see her walking down the other side of the road before turning to his husband.

"I'm scouring her room and taking away all forms of tights and capes." He stated. Hiram rolled his eyes and sipped his coffee.

"That's nice dear." He said non chalantly. Leroy chuckled. Thats when his phone went off on the counter. He picked it up.

"Hello, Leroy Berry speaking." He said into the phone. "Yes…Oh! Hello Bruce! How are you doing? Good to hear. Yes we're fine, thanks. She is to. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Hiram observed his husband. He had been good friends and colleagues with Bruce Wayne for years now. They never told their daughter the truth about him, but she knew him as her beloved 'Uncle Bruce.' He was a part of her life since she was still a baby and he still visited ever now and again, however being one of the richest, if not the richest, and most powerful men in Gotham meant you were very busy. The shorter man watched his husband as he spoke on the phone, listening to what he was saying. It wasn't usual that Bruce Wayne called on a Saturday. He was already planning what they should make for dinner for his visit tonight or whenever the bachelor was free.

"Yes. What? Today? When? In an hour? Hiram as well? Concerning Rachel? Oh dear…umm…well alright Bruce. Yes. I'll tell him. See you soon. Bye." Leroy said into the phone and then hung up. A deeply worrying look on his face.

"Something the matter dear?" Hiram asked.

"Bruce wants to see us at his office in an hour. It's-"

"About Rachel." Hiram said with a sigh. He put his coffee cup down, stood up from his stool and stepped up to his husband. "We always knew this day would come dear."

Leroy said nothing. He merely nodded at his husband.

* * *

"Yeah, S, I know." Rachel said into her phone, which rang as she turned around the corner of her street. "No I don't. Listen I told you guys that that dude was fishy, and it wasn't because he reeked either, though he probably hasn't showered in weeks by the looks of things."

She rolled her eyes at her friend, trust them to get snitched on by some random dude who promised them a big shipment of good weed. Thank God they ran as fast as they could.

"They would have recognized Noah…Well they have his mugshot from when he was in Juvi." She told her friend. "I have a strange as hell feeling that he was some homeless guy looking to get something out of it…I don't know what he could get out of ratting on three teenage drug dealers!…Well either way we got away with it didn't we? Look we'll just have to be more careful. I'll be there soon okay? Okay…yeah…yes…sure, whatever. Bye."

She hung up the phone and slipped it back into her pocket as she walked across the street. Her phone vibrated again with a new text. She rolled her eyes as she reached back into her pocket and read the text.

Pop: Rachel it's really important that you come home in time for dinner tonight. Your father and I need to talk to you. You're not in trouble. X

Rachel couldn't help but roll her eyes at the last sentence. Of course she wasn't in trouble, she hadn't been caught yet.

A few minutes later she arrived at Puck's apartment and walked up to his door. She knocked twice and looked to her left to see a guy standing there with his foot resting against the wall as he leaned on it. He was twirling a toothpick between his teeth and gave her the creepiest smile.

"What's up sweet cheeks?" he asked. She rolled her eyes and knocked harder on the door.

"Puckerman open this door or lose the balls. There is no in-between." She ordered. She heard quick footsteps and the door swung open.

"Sorry, sheesh, what's up your ass?" he asked.

"Something can be if she's down for it." The creepy guy on the wall said. Puck moved to let Rachel in and then looked over to him.

"Get outta here Randy!" he barked. "And keep your eyes to yourself or you'll lose 'em!"

"Sorry dude, didn't mean to leer at your girl or nothing." The guy who was apparently called Randy said, raising his arms in surrender.

"She's not my girl. That doesn't make her fair game. You keep your eyes to yourself or you're dead meat." Puck ordered and then slammed the door.

"Who is that creeper?" Rachel asked.

"Just sum bum who sleeps in the hallways cause he can't afford to live anywhere." Puck said.

"Well thanks Puck." She said.

"No prob, no one messes with my bros." He said with his arms crossed over his chest. Rachel walked into the living room and flopped down on the old ratty couch. The building was as ratty as hell, but it was all Puck's mother could afford while still being able to feed her and her son and her younger daughter. Puck had supposedly gotten a job, but he was fired after picking a fight with another employee. He was trying to help his mother so he never told her about getting fired. He would save up his money from selling weed and then at the end of the month he would give her the same amount of money. She never questioned why it's always in cash, she's just happy her son is being responsible and making money, she would be devastated if she ever found out the truth so he made sure that would never happen.

"Hey you want a beer or something?" Puck asked as he walked to the fridge.

"Dude it's 11AM." Santana said from the couch.

"Your point?" Puck asked.

"Do you have a mountain dew instead?" Rachel asked.

"Sure." He said. He came back with two sodas and a beer. He handed them their drinks and sat on the old recliner on Rachel's left.

"So did you get in trouble last night?" Santana said to Rachel.

"Nope, thanks to old faithful." Rachel said, reaching into her pocket and waving the chunk of cement victoriously.

"I still don't get why your dads never tried opening it to see if you replaced the battery with something." Puck said.

"Because, my dear Noah, you only think of something like that after you've either done it yourself or known someone who has. My parents clearly have not." Rachel said, smiling smugly and cracking open her soda can.

"Damn. You should be a detective or some shit." Puck grinned at her.

"Pfft! Why? Cause she can fool her parents?" Santana shrugged off.

"Don't be jealous Lopez." Rachel smiled at the Latina.

"I'm not. You got lucky by a chunk of cement. So what!" Santana shrugged. "It could have been anybody!"

"Yeah it could've." Rachel shrugged. "But I'm glad it was me."

"Well I'm glad too, cause it means you get to hang with us a little more." Puck said.

"Yeah, that's not happening tonight though." Rachel warned.

"Why? Daddy's little girl gotta run of home for something?" Santana teased.

"Shut it Satan. And technically yes." Rachel huffed. "They have something to tell me. Family dinner. They're probably gonna bombard me with college pamphlets. I will flip a fucking table."

"You should go to college Rach. Get out of this hell hole of a town." Puck advised.

"You've got the grades for it Berry. I don't know how or why, but you do. I don't see why you want to throw your life away." Santana said.

"Because, even if I do get accepted, how the fuck am I going to pay for it?" Rachel said.

"Dude are you fucking kidding me?" Puck demanded.

"Yeah hobbit, your uncle is mother fucking Bruce Wayne! He ain't got no kids to support! You're the only thing close, ask him for the dough and hit the road!" Santana said like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Okay, first, he's not my real uncle! I just call him that cause he's a family friend and my godfather." Rachel reminded.

"Well a godfather's job is to take care of the kid if their parents can't right? So if your parents can't take care of your college, it's his job to do it!" Puck reasoned. Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I'll think about it. It's not like any kid from our dumpy school ever went to the ivy league or anything. Besides there's nothing I wanna be when I grow up." Rachel shrugged.

"Except a lazy ass." Santana muttered.

"Shut it Satan." Rachel said, gulping some of her drink. She let out a raucous belch a few minutes later.

"Yo! What the fuck, Chucky? You're tiny how the fuck can a small thing like you make a sound like that?" Santana demanded.

"It's a hidden talent." Rachel shrugged.

"It's gross is what it is!" Santana said.

Puck leaned to the side of the armchair and farted loudly.

"OH SHIT!" Santana shouted in horror.

"Fuck dude that's disgusting!" Rachel grimaced as she got up and waved the smell away. Puck barked out laughter.

They hung out the rest of the day, not really doing anything except for watching TV and eating Puck's food. They had a few calls and went down to the alley to sell a few bags, making a total of three hundred dollars, which they split among themselves evenly. By the time 6:30 rolled around, Rachel walked back into her house and found her fathers preparing dinner. She walked into the kitchen and sat on a stool at the island counter.

"Hey guys." She said to them.

"Hey pumpkin, thanks for making it on time." Leroy said, kissing her temple.

"No problem pops, so what did you guys want to talk to me about?" she asked.

"Later sweetheart, we have a guest coming for dinner tonight." Hiram said from the stove.

"Who's-" Rachel began but was cut off with the sound of the doorbell. "I'll get it."

She hopped off the stool and went over to the door. She gasped when she saw that behind the door was the only thing close to an uncle she's ever have.

"Uncle Bruce!" She said happily, enveloping him in a hug. He chuckled heartily and hugged her back tightly.

"Hey there sweetheart, how's my favorite niece?" he said as he pulled back and tapped her on the nose. She rolled her eyes and moved aside to let him in, closing the door behind him.

"I'm your only niece, I'm not even your actual niece." Rachel commented as she led him to the kitchen.

"Oh you know what I mean!" He said.

"I do. Now give me your coat and start explaining why I haven't seen you in so long!" Rachel demanded playfully, tugging at his coat to lead him. He chuckled again and handed her the coat after taking out the bottle of wine he brought with him. Standard procedure, you're going over for dinner with someone, so bring wine. Good, expensive wine in Bruce Wayne's case. Rachel took the coat and ran over to hang it up on the coat rack, coming back into the kitchen quickly.

"I'm sorry honey, I've just been very busy. You know I went to Japan, Germany and even Greece in the past three months." Bruce explained.

"Yeah, yeah, being a rich businessman means you're very busy." Rachel rolled her eyes. "That's still no excuse to not visit your alleged 'favorite niece.'"

"Oh but a little birdie told me you're not even my actual niece." Bruce teased back.

"Still your only niece!" Rachel shot back.

"Okay. Okay." Leroy cut in. "Enough, you two. I swear Bruce you're worse than a child."

"We're all kids twice." He shrugged.

"Yeah only that usually happens when people are old and senile! Oh wait…" Rachel said sarcastically giving Bruce a side glance.

"Oh so she's funny now is she?" Bruce asked sarcastically. Leroy rolled his eyes at the two of them. But he smiled inwardly, at least it would make this night a lot easier.

Soon they were sitting in the dining room table, eating and drinking and chatting away. Rachel was still incredibly curious as to what her parents wanted to talk to her about, but she put those thoughts aside to enjoy dinner with her uncle Bruce. She wondered if he was somehow concerned. She got even more curious when her parents asked her to go to her room and she would be called down in a few minutes. She raised her eyebrow at her fathers but shrugged and listened to them. She kissed her uncle Bruce on the cheek and said goodnight to him, then went upstairs and didn't even try to listen to what they were saying downstairs. Mostly because her bedroom was sound proofed after she played the guitar too loudly and the neighbors complained. And her dad's complained. And the fucking reverend from the chapel down the street complained. Because she was so loud she disrupted mass one Sunday. Yeah she was proud of herself for that one.

Anyway, she was in her room on her laptop listening to music and reading an article about Batman being a fucking bad ass on the news while Bruce and her Parents talked down stairs. About twenty minutes later there was a knock on her door.

"Rachel? Can we come in?" Hiram asked.

"Sure dad." She said, shutting off her music and closing her laptop, putting it aside. Her fathers stepped into the room and she sat up, crossing her legs. "So what's up?"

"We have something we need to tell you honey." Leroy said gently as he and Hiram sat at the end of her bed and looked at her.

"Yeah I know. That's what I'm asking. What's going on?" Rachel asked again, slightly confused at her parent's behavior.

"Rachel. You might not like what we have to tell you okay, we just want you to be prepared for that." Hiram said gently. Her eyes grew wide as an idea popped into her head.

"Oh my God, is Uncle Bruce dying?" she blurted out.

"What?" Leroy asked.

"No, Rachel, what in the world would give you that idea?" Hiram asked. Rachel shrugged.

"I don't know! He came here to dinner after so long and you guys have been acting so weird. I don't know what else to think!" she said. Hiram and Leroy sighed simultaneously.

"Sweetheart, you know how we've always been truthful with you?" Leroy began.

"Yeah." Rachel nodded.

"And how we've always hoped you've been just as truthful with us." Hiram continued.

Breathe. Fight that smirk that's growing on your lips. Good.

"Go on." Rachel said.

"Well…You know how you're adopted?" Leroy asked.

"Yeah." Rachel said, biting her lip and furrowing her eyebrows.

"You know how you'd always ask who your real parents were and we'd always tell you that they were close by?" Hiram said.

"I don't like where this is going." Rachel stated bluntly.

"Well…we were only half right about that statement." Leroy said softly.

"Holy crap, I didn't like…inherit a country or something…did I?" Rachel asked cautiously.

"No, no sweetheart, nothing like that. Though you might not believe it either way." Hiram said gently.

"Rachel." Leroy jumped in again before Rachel could make a comment. "We're very sorry to tell you that your birth mother died a little after you were born."

He stopped there and Rachel looked down for a minute, soaking that little tidbit of information in. She took a deep breath and looked back at her dads.

"Go on." She said.

"Your birth father on the other hand…he's always been a part of your life." Hiram said cautiously.

"Is it one of you guys? Wait…no…you'd tell me if it was…right?" Rachel asked. She was kind of rambling her own thought at this point.

"No sweetheart, we'd love to be, but unfortunately we're not." Leroy said. Rachel nodded softly as if to say 'it's okay'

"But he has always been close by." Hiram added.

"Could you guys just please cut the crap and tell me who it is?" Rachel said softly. Her dads nodded and looked at each other, mentally agreeing not to chastise her about her language. Leroy swallowed and looked back at his daughter.

"Rachel, baby girl, your uncle Bruce…he's actually your father." He said softly. Rachel furrowed her eyebrows at him, looking at him like he was crazy, then her eyes went wide as the information sunk in. Then the six foot tall man grew very scared of the little girl in front of him because her eyes looked like she could kill a man. She shot off the bed and turned around the bed to stand in front of them. Arms crossed, teeth clenched.

"You mean to tell me that all this time my birth father has been around, but he never wanted to keep me?" Rachel demanded.

"It's not like that Rach-" Hiram began but he was cut off.

"Why not?" Rachel demanded again. Loudly.

"He just felt he wasn't fit to take care of you." Leroy said softly.

"NOT FIT TO TAKE CARE OF ME?!" Rachel shouted. "THE MAN IS A FUCKING BILLIONAIRE!"

"Now sweetheart that's not what your daddy meant-" Hiram said, trying to calm the enraged girl in front of him

"He was probably ashamed of me, wasn't he? The great Bruce Wayne was shocked as all hell when his daughter was born with a penis. It was an outrage so he just dumped me off onto one of his employees, is that it?" Rachel ranted angrily.

"No." Leroy said, a little too loudly. "It's nothing like that. Bruce and I were friends out of college and that's why he hired me. I wanted to have a job before I married your father so that we'd be stable enough to raise a family."

"So you raised his?" Rachel demanded again.

"Rachel, please, calm down and let us explain." Hiram said gently. Rachel rubbed the temples of her head and then looked at her fathers.

"Okay. You have three minutes before this headache I have turns into a full blown migraine." She warned.

"When Bruce and Shelby, your mother, had you, they were the proudest parents ever. They loved you unconditionally, your…little issue-" Leroy started explaining.

"Little is the last thing you should call it." Rachel cut in.

"Whatever! It had nothing to do with it." Leroy jumped back in. "The problem was after your mother died."

"You see, Rachel, your mother died after there was some strange explosion in a theater. She was an actress on stage. Heck she was a Broadway star! You've heard of Shelby Corcoran, have you not?"

"Shelby Corcoran is my birth mother?" Rachel asked with an incredulous look on her face. Her fathers both nodded and she rubbed her temples again, a nervous tic. "Okay. So my parents are both rich and successful as all hell. Go on."

"Well. Your father was devastated after the accident." Hiram said, trying to put his words as gently as possible.

"And like I said, he and I were…are…very good friends." Leroy added. "When Shelby died, you became his world. But he felt like he was an ill fitting father."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rachel demanded. At least she had stopped the yelling, now she was just exasperated.

"Well, you see, he wanted nothing more than to be able to take care of you properly, give you a good future." Hiram stated.

"And he thought that the only way he could do that was if he kept his job. It's no secret that Bruce is a very rich man." Leroy said. Rachel nodded. "Only his job was very demanding. He wanted to be able to provide you a good life filled with love and happiness, while at the same time being able to provide for you."

"In the meantime, your daddy and I were trying to find a surrogate mother for our children, but we were having no luck." Hiram said. "Bruce was very supportive of us throughout it all. When our last chance for a surrogate mother didn't follow through, we were desperate. We wanted a family so badly but there was no one who would help us. We had tried adopting from the orphanage but we were turned down."

"Okay." Rachel husked out, her throat dry from lack of use and her eyes stung.

"One day Bruce called me while I was here and he asked me to go see him at his office, at first I thought it was about work, but then he asked me to bring Hiram in with me and well, we just knew something was up." Leroy continued. "We went into his office and the man just looked exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot, his hair wasn't brushed and he looked like he hadn't shaved in days."

Suddenly Rachel's mind was filled with images of a bearded Bruce Wayne…he was always clean cut, she just couldn't picture him not shaving.

"He told us that he was having trouble juggling between work and taking care of you, and that by default he felt like he was being a bad father." Hiram stated softly.

"We tried to reassure him. But in the end, he asked us to adopt you and, well, we just couldn't say no." Leroy told her truthfully.

"Really? You couldn't?" Rachel said, a little miffed.

"Rachel. Even though you weren't our child-"

"I'm still not your child." Rachel spat out.

"Either way we never stopped loving you and caring about you. We were your godparents you know?" Hiram said.

"Okay." She breathed out, pressing the bridge of her nose. "So Bruce Wayne is my father. Why are you telling me this now?"

"Well…Bruce has requested that…you go live with him…for some time." Leroy said slowly and gently, his voice getting quieter as he went one. Rachel's eyes shot open and another pang of fear shot through the six foot man.

"REQUESTED?! WHAT THE FUCK AM I? HIS LOYAL SERVANT THAT HE CAN JUST SUMMON AT HIS WILL?" Rachel screamed.

"Rachel, honey, that's not what your father meant we just-" Hiram began, trying to fix the problem his husband made, he just had to say requested didn't he?

"Stop. Calling him my father!" Rachel demanded. "He's not my father. Neither are you! I'm not even fucking related to you!"

"Rachel we love you just as if you were." Leroy cut in.

"Rachel. We think that maybe it would be good for you if you went to live with Bruce for a while." Hiram blurted out, noting how they were getting side tracked.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rachel asked, crossing her arms.

"Rachel, Bruce can send you to a much better school, he can get you into Gotham Academy!" Leroy said.

"Plus, he wants a chance to be a father to you." Hiram added.

"He had his chance! Seventeen years ago! But he gave me up to you two!" Rachel stated angrily.

"He wants a second chance. I don't see why you're being like this, you love him." Leroy said.

"No. I love my UNCLE Bruce. The man who never lied to me. The man who wasn't my father hiding away from his responsibilities, putting his burden on someone else!"

"Rachel you were never a burden, to him or to us!" Hiram corrected.

"Really? Because it sure as hell seems like it! He dumped me off with you guys when I was a baby, and now you're dumping me off with him over sixteen years later!" Rachel ranted.

"That's not our intention." Leroy cut in. "Look Rachel we love, blood relation or not. And of course Bruce loves you too! You're his daughter, how could he not? And when he gave you up to us, it was the most difficult thing he ever did. I've never seen a man cry so hard! He spent every day for the next sixteen years always asking me how you were doing when he saw me at work. He keeps a picture of you on his desk, Rachel. Remember that time he took you to the fun fair? You were nine-"

"It was my birthday." Rachel said quietly, her mind going back to that day. "We spent the day together and then he brought me here and stayed for my party."

Rachel's eyes immediately shot over to her bookcase, where among several ornaments, and a karate trophy she won when she was twelve, sat a chocolate brown teddy bear holding a red heart with the words 'Best Birthday Girl' written on it in white. She swallowed at the lump that was forming in her throat as her mind went back to that picture, which her parents have a copy of framed in the living room.

"I don't understand." She said quietly. "Why now? After all this time, why does he feel the need to rip me away from my life? My friends, my school, you guys!"

"Again, that isn't his intention. And you'll still see us! We'll visit, you can even come and spend the weekends here if you want." Hiram pleaded. "Rachel he's not trying to take you away from your life, he just wants a chance to be a father to you before it's too late."

"And it wasn't too late when he gave me up?" Rachel spat.

"Rachel! Enough!" Leroy ordered. He stood up and looked right at his daughter. "You can never understand what he was going through when Shelby died! You were baby! You don't even remember any of that year. He was distraught. The love of his life was taken away. And it wasn't easy giving you up. He broke his heart all over again and all he wanted to do was give you a good life. Unfortunately he felt he couldn't give you that on his own. Don't you see he did all of this for you? And lately…well I don't know what's going on with you, but you've been getting into too much trouble at school, you talk back, you get into fights. It's not your normal behavior. We're worried about you."

"We feel spending some time living with Bruce will be just what you need." Hiram cut in. "Plus, Gotham Academy is a very prestigious school, if you graduate from there, well…you've got a better chance of getting into a good college than if you graduate from Fillmore High."

Rachel had to agree to that, even if she didn't do so audibly. Fillmore high wasn't incredibly horrible. They didn't have metal detectors at the door because the students were such fucking delinquents that they brought weapons or stuff in, although there were a few choice incidents with switch blades or swiss army knives. But the teachers were incredibly crap, only working there because they had no other choice. Even the principle was bored half the time and didn't care what happened. The funding was terrible, the teams never won shit and…you get the point, Fillmore high was okay, it was close to where the Berry's lived so all Rachel had to do was walk a few blocks. She was grateful to go there because she met Puck and Santana, who were the best friends she's ever had. But apart from that, Fillmore high was no one's dream school.

Gotham Academy was another story all together. It was this very prestigious private school with a champion football team and cheer leading squad, not to mention debate team, chess team…you get the point! The students at Gotham Academy were some sort of high grade pedigree breed of humans. All very attractive, incredibly intelligent. Well it was kind of hard not to be when your parents are part of the elites of Gotham, which they had to be to afford to pay the tuition. However the school was also sponsored by a lot of big companies, namely Wayne industries. They also had strict rules about uniforms which just made Rachel want to gag. Wearing the same clothes every day? Didn't the school see health issues with that? Of course it would probably just be the same kind of clothes, not the exact same shirt every single day. That would be so horribly horribly wrong.

"Rachel." Leroy began. "We think it would be good for you, so we've already agreed to let Bruce take you to live with him for a year."

"A YEAR?!" Rachel exclaimed.

"Yes. After that you'll be 18 and the choice will be up to you." Leroy said with a firm nod.

"Do you even realize how unfair that is?" Rachel argued.

"Rachel. Just give Bruce a chance!"Leroy said, exasperated. "He's your father, he deserves that much."

"He had his chance when he gave me up!" Rachel pressed on.

"Rachel." Leroy looked at his daughter again. "Everyone deserves a second chance. We raised you to know that."

Rachel sighed. She knew her fa…Leroy…had a point, but at what cost? She'd be away from her friends and the people she'd learned to call family, she'd be forced to live in a new home, go to a new school and be around a completely different crowd. That change was incredible and just too much for her.

"I am so. Out of here." Rachel proclaimed before turning on her heel and walking out of her bedroom door.

"Rachel! Where are you going?" Hiram called after her, following her down the stairs in time to see her put on her jacket and grab her keys.

"Rachel get back here!" Leroy ordered.

"I'm going out. Any other information is reserved for my actual parents." Rachel spat. She turned and walked right out of the door, making sure to slam it as loudly as possible on her way out. She left before she even had a chance to see the look of hurt on both the Berry men's faces.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I'm really happy with the response this story has gotten! I hope as the chapters go along that will grow! Thank you so much for your continued support and encouragement.

Enjoy!

-B

* * *

The next day Rachel woke up with a grunt and a throbbing headache. She opened her eyes and then closed them again because she remembered sunlight was a thing that was present in the mornings. She heard footsteps and the slight thump, signaling a full mug being placed on a wooden surface. The distinct smell of coffee hit her nose and she didn't know whether to thank God for it or throw up.

"Rach, you up?" she heard a soft, deep voice asks.

"Puck?" she asked. It was muffled by the pillow and probably came out sounding like profanity, but she really couldn't care less at this point. Where was she? Why did her head hurt? And what the fuck happened last night?

"Sit up. I brought you coffee. Your head probably feels like shit." He said softly. She was grateful that he maintained a low whisper in respect of her headache.

"Where am I?" she mumbled.

"My bed." He said softly. Her eyes shot open and she sat up quickly.

"WHAT?!" she demanded as she shot up, regretting it instantly as a wave of nausea hit her.

"Whoa, easy." He said, quickly picking up the trash bin next to his bed in preparation of any projectile vomiting.

"What the hell happened?" she asked again in a groan as she blocked her eyes from the sunlight that poured into the room. "Close the damned curtains!"

Puck nodded, quickly straightening himself and drawing the curtains of the small window above his bed. Rachel peeked through her fingers to see whether it could be deemed safe to open her eyes with no risk of being blinded. She removed her hand from her eyes and began rubbing her temples to try to relieve herself of some pain.

"You came here in a fit of rage yesterday. Remember?" he said softly.

"Umm…" she mumbled, as the memory of running away from her house and to Puck's hit her. "Yeah…A little."

"What happened la-" he was about to ask when suddenly loud pounding could be heard from the front door.

"Open the door Puckerman!" Santana's loud order cam through the wooden barrier. He rushed over to the door and let her in.

"Would you be quiet? Rachel has a hangover-" he began.

"Yeah, yeah I thought as much, where is the little hobbit?" she demanded. Loudly. Because she didn't give a shit. Because she was Santana fucking Lopez and she had no idea why one of her best friends came over in a fit of tears and rage and drank half a bottle of Jack, neat, before throwing up and passing out. But she was about to find out. She stormed into the bedroom, Puck trailing behind her. She shot daggers into Rachel who looked up at her.

"Sup, Satan." She mumbled.

"Cut the shit, Berry." Santana demanded. "What the fuck happened last night?"

"I'm trying to remember myself at the moment." Rachel answered.

"Rach, you were mumbling something about your dads, and your uncle…what the hell dude?" Puck asked, exasperated.

"What the fuck, hobbit, what happened to you?" Santana demanded again, throwing off her jacket.

"Could you please stop yelling for five seconds so I can try and remember?" Rachel asked, exasperated and annoyed. She grabbed the coffee off the night stand and took a few big gulps.

"I'll get you some water." Puck said when he saw that she had finished her coffee in two breaths. Santana sat down on the bed and looked at her, waiting for her to tell her what the hell looked up at her and sighed, throwing herself back onto the pillows and rubbing the balls of her hands into her eyes to relieve some of the pain located there.

"Uncle Bruce is really my dad." She mumbled.

"What?" Santana demanded again, Rachel looked at her expression and she knew that the question wasn't because she didn't hear her, but because she didn't believe her. She just nodded at her friend and waited for her next reaction.

"Are you shitting me right now?" Santana demanded once again.

"I wish." Rachel groaned.

"Bruce Wayne? Your fucking dad is Bruce fucking Wayne?!" Santana shouted. "And that's somehow a bad thing? Are you high? Or just fucking stupid?!"

"Please stop yelling." Rachel requested bluntly. Puck walked back in and handed her a glass of water and to advil pills. "Thanks."

"So Bruce is your dad?" he asked.

"You heard." She stated rhetorically. He nodded and she rolled her eyes.

"You better have gotten drunk to celebrate cause I'll have to beat some sense into you, literally!" Santana threatened.

"Santana. Shut the fuck up." Rachel ordered, getting up from the bed and grabbing her jeans which hung off the back of a chair.

"I don't believe this. You're losing your shit because your dad is a fucking billionaire, what the fuck is the problem?" Santana asked.

"The fucking problem is that he didn't want me! He's been in my life as my uncle but he thought he'd be a bad father. So he dumped me onto his gay, recently married at the time, employee who had no surrogate mother!" Rachel ranted.

"Did your dads explain why though?" Puck asked.

"They're not my dads! I only have one dad! And all three have been lying to me for my entire life! Not to mention I found out that my birth mother is dead!" Rachel went on. Puck just gave her a sad look.

"Rach. You're not seeing the big picture here." Santana said, standing up and walking up to her, staring her down. "Your father is Bruce Wayne. He is rich as all hell."

"Your point?" Rachel demanded.

"My point, short stack, is that you've finally got a chance to get out of here!" Santana said. Rachel shook her head and looked away from the taller brunette.

"He wants to take me away from my life! All of a sudden out of nowhere he wants me to go live with him. And they agree with him! They want me to go live with him for a year, do you have any idea what that means?" Rachel demanded again.

"That you finally have a shot at something?" Santana said.

"My family is here. You guys. My school, my rep-" Rachel began.

"We'll still see you. You can visit. We'll come to you even, we've got nothing going on here!" Santana reassured, albeit angrily. "You've got nothing going on here either, you just said it yourself that Leroy and Hiram aren't your dads so why would you want to see them? And your rep? As what? The bad girl? Yeah that'll be awesome on a college application! 'Extra Curricular achievement: beat up half the male student body, had detention and three suspensions in less than one year-"

"I get it okay! But…" Rachel took in a deep breath and rubbed furiously at her temples.

"But what?" Santana demanded.

"But who is he to ask me to leave my life behind just to give him a second chance after he gave up his first one?" Rachel blurted out angrily. She felt a hand gently drop onto her shoulder and rub it soothingly.

"Easy girl." Puck whispered softly. "Rach, maybe he's finally seen that he misses you too much. I'm sure he has his reasons for giving you up to Hiram and Leroy. And everyone deserves a second chance."

Rachel huffed out angrily, trying desperately to relax before the tears thats tung her eyes spilled forward. She swallowed at the lump in her throat and looked into Santana's intense brown eyes.

"I just can't shake the feeling that he gave me up because he's ashamed of me." Rachel said, barely above a whisper as she fought tears.

"That's bullshit." Santana said, softly but surely. "Why would he be ashamed of you?"

"Because of…" Rachel trailed off, looking down and then back into the eyes of the girl in front of her.

"Rachel. That's nothing to be ashamed of. And I'm talking about both him and you here." Santana reassured. "He wants another chance. And you have another chance. You can go to a good school! You can get to a good college and get the hell out of here. And if you even think of staying here because of us I swear to God I'll throw you off the Brooklyn bridge!"

"What are you saying, Santana?" Rachel asked. Santana lowered herself down to Rachel's eye level, with both hands on her shoulders. Her gaze softened and Rachel could see the sincerity in them, something which was not always visible in the Latina.

"I'm saying go and live with him, gain a father and gain a future. We'll still be here. And we'll support you though everything. But you can't let this chance go, Rachel." She said softly. Rachel took in a deep breath and just barely registered the fact that there were tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Rachel." Puck began. "Wherever you go we'll always be here for you, but if you've got a chance to get out of here and do something with your life, you have to take it."

"But…" Rachel swallowed down a sob. "Seventeen years, Puck, he's lied to me for seventeen years about who my real dad is. About my mother, I never knew the truth. I was always told they were close by and now I find out my mother is dead, and has been since after I was born. And my uncle is my dad? He wasn't even my uncle biologically, I just called him that out of respect, cause he was my godfather…Now I find out that he's my father? This…This is just fucked up."

"I know, Rach, I know. But look at the bright side, at least it's just a year. You'll finish your Junior and Senior year at a private school and then you'll get away from all of them. Bruce. Hiram and Leroy. You'll be off at college and after that you have your whole life ahead of you!" he encouraged. "You can't miss out on this chance Rach…We won't let you!"

Rachel looked up at him and saw the determination in his eyes. She didn't say anything…she _couldn't _say anything because her throat was sore from forcing back the sobs. She just nodded. That's all they needed, a nod to show them that she agreed with what they were saying. Then she felt two strong arms wrap themselves around her and she was sobbing silently into Noah's chest while Santana rubbed her shoulder.

It took her half an hour to finally calm down and stop crying. She's never cried before, not in front of these two anyway. She cried when she was a baby, she cried when she was five and slipped on the ice when her dads took her ice skating. She cried when her pet canary died when she was ten and then she never cried again because she never had a reason to. Now she was crying because of everything. Because the men who took her ice skating when she was five weren't her fathers. She knew one of them wasn't biologically related to her, but she always thought that maybe she was one of theirs. Now she knows otherwise. The man she called her 'favorite uncle' went from not being actually related to her to being her biological father who wanted a second chance at being a father. It occurred to her then that Berry wasn't even her last name. Wayne was. That didn't sound right, Rachel Barbra Wayne didn't sound right. It wasn't even her legal name. She was so confused. Would she be Rachel Berry at school now? Or Rachel Wayne? Would Bruce force her to call him dad? Or would she be able to get by with calling him Bruce? It would be really weird. The word 'uncle' was bound to slip out every now and again. When was she even moving in with him? Would she go home now and find Leroy and Hiram packing up her stuff in boxes? Or would they wait the month that was left for Spring break before she transferred? All these questions were un answered, and they would remain that way until she finally sucked it up and went home to face Hiram and Leroy. The men who raised her and now so effortlessly gave her back to her birth father. What was all that talk about wanting kids so badly? Was this planned all along? Did Bruce decide to have someone raise his kid and then take over when she was old enough to be an adult, but not old enough to put her foot down and, by law, refuse to live with him? Did they sign a contract to agree to this?

She shook her head, as if she were shaking out all the questions with it. She stood up and went to the bathroom, washing her face of the tears and smeared make up that she still had on from the day before. She gathered her things and switched Puck's wife beater back for her shirt and then said a quick goodbye to her friends, promising them she would call and tell them what happened when she got home. Then made her way back to the Berry residence. She walked into the door.

"Rachel?" Leroy's voice came from the living room. He was followed by Hiram as she put her jacket up on the coat rack. They didn't envelope her in hugs, or yell. They stood there in the doorway of the living room and waited for her to speak first. She looked them up and down. They looked exhausted but relieved. She didn't miss the bags they had under their eyes. She inhaled deeply.

"H-have you guys been up all night?" she asked.

"We were worried." Leroy said gently. "Couldn't sleep."

She nodded in understanding.

"Rachel…" Hiram began.

"I'll go." She said quietly, glancing between the two of them. They nodded to her and she took in a deep breath.

"Rachel…We're sorry we never said anything, and that we sprung that on you out of nowhere." Hiram said.

"It's okay…I had to find out some time right?" She asked rhetorically. She shrugged and then looked back into their eyes. "Just…was this always the plan?"

"No." Leroy said quickly. "We never planned this. The plan was that you were our daughter."

"Then why are you letting him take me back so easily?" she asked.

"We're worried about you. We want you to have a good life. And we know that…well you can't do that in your current living situation." Leroy explained. She sighed.

"Bruce couldn't raise me because he didn't feel he'd be a good father, you can't keep me now because you can't give me a good life…I don't get it." She said, exasperated, she sat down on the steps and rubbed her face roughly with her hands. She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and saw Leroy sitting next to her.

"We just want you to have a good life." He repeated softly. "Even if that means having to give you up for a little while."

"Why doesn't he just pay for…" she trailed off. "Why does he want me to live with him?"

"He wants a second chance, Rach." Hiram explained as he came up in front of her. "Let him have a chance to be a father to you, I think he deserves that much."

Rachel let out a breath and nodded. She looked at Leroy and then rested her head into his chest as she hugged him tightly. She felt Hiram sitting down on the stair in front of her and rub gentle circles on her back.

"I'll miss you guys." She whispered.

"You can still visit. Your room won't change one bit and you can visit here on the weekends." Leroy assured softly. "You can even keep your key if you want to."

"Really?" she asked.

"Rachel, no matter who's daughter you are biologically, you will always have a home here." Hiram assured again, giving her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. She pulled back from Leroy and slid down to the step below her to hug Hiram, who enveloped her in his arms and held her tightly.

"When do I move out?" she asked softly.

"We thought it would be better to wait until the end of the month, that way you get to enjoy Spring break with your friends before you move in with Bruce." Leroy explained gently. She nodded against Hiram's shoulder.

"Okay." She agreed.

That night she called up Puck and Santana on Skype to explain what was happening. And just like that she was making a list of things she wanted to take with her when she moved in with Bruce.


End file.
